Stolen Hearts in The City of Thieves
by Alykazaam
Summary: While making a detour in Dennish, Gajeel and Juvia meet Levy who is on a mission in the famous city of bandits. During their stay in the city together, Gajeel and Levy become closer than either imagined. Rated M for some citrus in the third chapter. Chapter one has been fixed! This is a prequel to the story Strange Magic.
1. Chapter 1

The city of Dennish looked as it always did, filthy and riddled with thieves, vandals, and other sorts of criminals. Gajeel and Juvia, entered through a dilapidated city gate; deciding to make a stop at the bandit city upon the dragonslayer's request. The two phantoms wandered the rainy markets and residential streets until they arrived at the tavern they usually stop at when first entering town.

When Gajeel pushed open the door and entered the dark ale house the familiar stench of stale beer, soggy wood, and watered down liquor attacked his nose causing a displeased snarl to manifest on his face and a growl to rumble from his lips. The patrons sitting at the tables, the wooden surfaces molding and sticky with layers of lost booze, turned their eyes to the source of dull light and sound and froze in fear realizing they were looking at the infamous Black Steel Gajeel and his quiet comrade, one of the powerful Element Four of Phantom Lord known to many as the Rain Woman.

The nightmare of Dennish had returned home.

The bar and all its patrons were silent as death for too long, Gajeel became annoyed with the humming of rapid heartbeats around the dingy room and shouted from the entrance, "The hell are y'all lookin' at!?"

The violent growl in his voice jolted everyone out of their stupors and the bar filled itself again with whispers of money trails and coveted information. The dragonslayer's heavy boots thumped on the old beer soaked floor that creaked under his hard steps as he walked over to the bar, the aqueous femme fatale following quietly behind him. Her seemingly timid presence, a front for the elemental force she could control and wreck havoc with.

"Two pints of tha usual garbage ya serve 'round here," Gajeel slammed his fist on the bar, the iron studs on his fingerless gloves, reflecting the orange flames from the lantern hanging above, matched the ones embedded in his forearms, ears and face. The thick fabric stained brown with foreign blood from the last mission. Gajeel Redfox was known to all present for his strength and his abuse of said strength to get his point across. To challenge the tall, well built ruffian was a death wish nobody dared to have granted and all requests were obliged. Gajeel had come home, even if he would rather be at the guild miles away, he found he missed the cowering drunks and charlatans making way for him wherever he went.

Two steins of ale were pushed to the two phantoms and as the ebony haired brute placed the hop heavy liquid to his lips he stopped as something caught his eye. At the back end corner of the bar a small figure sat shrouded in a tattered brown cloak. On the bar before the child, sat an empty shot glass and a single tarot card. At least Gajeel thought this patron was a child, there was no way on Earthland a full grown person could be that small.

"Hmph," he scoffed into his mug as he took a large drink, "so you're lettin' kids drink in here now?" The barkeep shrugged as he wiped the surface of the bar knowing it would never shine. Gajeel stared at the mysterious small person and he recalled when he and his old partner in crime Mash used to sneak into pubs much like this to pick-pocket the old drunkards who were foolish enough to fall asleep in their glasses of ale or whiskey. Maybe the kid was down on his luck; the dragonslayer could understand that.

Gajeel downed the rest of his stein and slammed it on the bar. Seeing as Juvia had not finished hers he grabbed that as well and gulped the bitter beverage much to his friends dismay, but the roll of her eyes and the shaking of her head told him she didn't mind, especially with the small smile that curled from her typical frown. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and stood up from his stool, the sound of the tall chair scooting on the wooden floor seemed to die short from the source, killed by the hum of criminals talking, arguing or downright fighting without and ounce of subtlety.

"Well I know I sure as hell ain't gettin' pick-pocketed while I'm in town. C'mon, Juvia, lets get outta here." After throwing some jewels on the bar, Gajeel and his quiet partner left the dark tavern, bringing in some overcast light from the rainy day outside as they opened the door to leave.

In the dark corner of the bar, the cloaked patron with her card and her empty glass sat still as stone before raising a dainty pale hand up with her index finger pointing up to signal the barkeep to fill her glass once more of the house liquor she has previously gulped down. Her nerves never failed her, no matter how many times she had done missions like this one, no matter how many petty thefts she had done as a child in the Magnolia marketplace, her nerves would almost get the better of her moments before the job. Almost.

Golden eyes, hidden under unruly light blue bangs, peered down at the tarot card on the bar. The card baring a portrait of a beautiful brunette with long, wavy hair, her slender yet shapely upper body covered with a small bikini top. At the bottom of the card was a banner that simply read 'Cana'. She downed the fiery shot that burned the whole way down her throat and picked up the tarot card in front of her and held it close.

"Cana, I need you to answer me," she whispered softly to herself and the card.

The young woman stared at the card, her features still obscured by her hood and the surrounding darkness. Within a few seconds the portrait of the brunette opened her violet eyes and smiled.

"Hey there, little Lev," the woman on the card began to speak, "how's that codex retrieval mission coming along?"

"Alright, I guess," the hooded girl replied to the talking card in her hand, "It's just been a long time since I've done a mission like this. I was hoping you'd do a reading for me. Just to keep my possibilities known."

"Sure thing, I have my cards in my hand right now. Just let me lay them out." The card fell silent for a moment before the portrait's face changed from its usual smile to one of concern.

"Mmm," the card began, "My cards are telling me that you'll take the codex, but some obstacles will come your way. You'll be saved by a spirit holding two red stones..."

The card's portrait became grim with what she said next, "However, the price for saving your life...will be your heart. Levy, you're not making strange deals with devils are you?"

"What?! No!"

"Alright," she sighed. "I feel like my reading wasn't as much of the pep-talk as you were hoping for." Cana's worry for her friend reflected through the card. "Please, Lev, be careful on this mission. 'Kay?"

"Of course, no spirits will be stealing my heart today. Besides most prophecy magic is symbolic anyways, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about." the petite woman made sure to speak with an air of confidence to assure her friend through the card.

The brunette on the card smiled, her bluff was successful, "Alright, Lev, good luck and be careful!"

"I will. Thanks, Cana."

The woman on the card's eyes closed and seemed to lose the magic that made it so animated moments ago. The girl placed the card away in a pocket within her cloak and stood up and, with the most subtly she could muster, glanced at one of the tables at the other side of the tavern.

She took a deep breath, 'That codex isn't about to steal itself,' she thought as she began moving though the bar unnoticed and silent as still air.

Gajeel and Juvia had been walking down the stone paved street outside of the bar they just left. The walk was wet from the rain Juvia could never undo around her, and quiet due to the fact that the two were never fond of small talk. The dragonslayer stomped through the wet streets with his hands in his back pockets; his comrade walking beside him with the grace and aura of a queen

Suddenly a familiar scent was caught in Gajeel's nose as he heard the rapid splashes of footsteps behind them. Someone was clearly running out of fear for their life. Before he could turn around, the person on the run collided with him with a force that surprisingly almost knocked the massive man off of his feet. As he bared his teeth to berate the fool who ran into him, he was caught off guard by who it was that had bumped into him. And everything seemed to slow down as the adrenaline hit his veins.

It was that kid from the bar! A girl no less; her hood had fallen from her head, revealing a wavy head of hair such a shade of blue that Gajeel had sworn to Ankhseram that a piece of the sky had fallen through the rain clouds above.

When their eyes met it was as if the world stopped turning, and judging by her honey brown gaze he was not alone in the strange feeling.

The Iron Dragon noticed that she was holding onto something tight to her chest with both arms as she continued to run past them in the downpour. 'Damn it all she was a thief, stupid kid!' Gajeel thought as he heard the hollers of a group of ruffians following from behind shouting 'thief' and 'don't let her get away' as they ran after her. He saw her trip over her own feet, as she caught herself her cloak flew up revealing thick womanly legs and a round, firm posterior as she turned down a street Gajeel knew was a dead end.

"Gajeel, it's the child from the bar!" Juvia cried out as the men pursuing the young woman had also turned down the same dead end street.

Dread sank in Gajeel's chest. The laws of Dennish were as backwards and cruel as it's denizens. Punishing a child for theft was typically a beating, but a woman caught stealing was left to their accusers' judgment. Gajeel Redfox was a lot of things: ruthless, destructive, cruel even, but he was by no means the type to allow something unthinkable to happen to someone trying their best to survive. He was no monster.

Gajeel started to run the the street ahead after the girl and the group of men after her.

"Gajeel! What are you doing!?" The woman in blue shouted as she began to sprint behind her friend.

"That ain't no kid, Juvia! No kid has legs and a fine ass like that! She's a full grown woman and if those bastards get their hands on her, she's in serious trouble! Now c'mon!"

The sky haired woman halted to a stop at the dead end she ran herself into. She had read the laws of the city before taking the mission and was aware of the consequences she could face if the men after her were to realize she was not a lowly child. One of the possible punishments would be a fate worse than death in her opinion. She prayed to the First Master that her small stature would fool everyone and she would get by with the beating of her life. However that ruse was shattered when she overheard someone shouting about how a "fine ass" like hers belongs to no child during her attempt to escape.

"Well, now that we have ya cornered," a gruff voice that sounded as sleazy as the man who spoke. "Give us back what you stole and we won't kill ya after we have our... _compensation_ for yer meddling"

The emphasis of the word 'compensation' implied everything the young thief dreaded. She held onto the codex in her arms tighter to her chest as she took in her surroundings and measured up her adversaries. This codex was integral to the research of a lost part of Fioran history before the Dragon King Festival and for the sake of knowledge and her body she was going to fight with everything she had.

There were four of them and they appeared to not be mages. She could use her magic to her advantage, she just needed to grab her light pen in her cloak pocket. Before she was able to finish her thought on how to deal with her assailants two of them were thrown into the brick walls of the alley by a massive blast of water while the man who was telling her about their plans of punishment was struck in the head by a large iron pillar. As the three fell to the ground unconscious and limp the last man standing turned around slowly to see that he was standing before a hulking man who towered over him dressed in black with long unruly hair to match. His iron studs on his skin glistened on his forearms despite the lack of sun, and those eyes that burned a fiery blood red stared at him in a way that made the cad suddenly feel weak and pitiful. The woman beside behemoth eyed him with similar threatening eyes that were ready for battle and lacked mercy.

The last thug was quivering with fear as he looked at his fallen friends, no longer caring to stay he ran haphazardly out of the alleyway. Running into and falling over the barrels of garbage and rain water that were full on the count of the current downpour, adding humiliation to his cowardice.

The small thief stood in awe at her saviors. Before she could offer her thanks the tall brooding man began to scold her as he walked up and pointed a finger at her chest.

"You idiot!" He began to shout, "Tha hell were ya thinkin!? Don'chya know the laws 'round here!?"

"As a matter of fact, I do!"

"'N' ya still thought stealin' whatever tha hell it is ya got from those morons was a good idea?" Gajeel placed his fists on his hips trying to look past her arms to see what she was holding onto for dear life. "Say, what tha hell did ya snatch from 'em anyways?" He asked with a forced aura of indifference, he would be lying if he said he was unimpressed. The shrimp had guts!

The girl blushed as her eyes looked away sheepishly while loosening the grip on her prize. Gajeel would be lying a second time if he said that look was unbecoming of her. He was unsure if he was simply that impressed with her moxie, but he could not help but admire everything about her. She revealed the ancient codex, strange symbols adorned the worn leather cover that Gajeel could not read.

"A book!?" He huffed in a gruff voice.

"A book," the thief replied curtly as she could see the menacing man try not to smile and failing terribly. And he did something that she did not think he was able to do judging by his dark appearance.

He laughed!

Not just a casual chuckle, but a boisterous roar. It was not only loud but downright odd! A strange "gihi" sound echoed in the alley while he reached down and ruffled her light blue locks roughly.

"Ya hear that, Juvia? Tha shrimp here is crazier than I am!" He turned his head to look over at Juvia who was rolling over one of the unconscious ruffians with her booted foot making sure that the body was still breathing. He turned back to the young woman in front of him who stared up with an irritated glare, her cheeks slightly puffed and her lips puckered, even her snarl was something Gajeel could not put his finger on, but he liked it. He liked her.

"Tell ya what, girlie, those morons are prolly gonna come after ya again ta try ta get that back. So why don'chya come 'n' hang with us fer a while. Have a few drinks." Gajeel waved his right arm to signal her to tag along. A guild mark was visible on the shoulder. It looked like an eye with horns and a devil's tail. No doubt about it, it was Phantom Lord's Devil's Eye insignia worn by all members. Not just a mage guild, but the rival guild of her own guild, Fairy Tail. He was right about everything, she ought to tag along with them, for now at least. She would in the meantime keep her guild ties to herself to avoid making an already rocky mission into a disaster, but she could not help but wonder what her guild mates would think of this?

She ran past the defeated bandits to catch up to the Phantoms ahead of her, deciding a proper introduction should at least be attempted.

"So if you two are going to be my rag-tag escorts can I at least know your names?" she asked between breaths as she reached her new companions and adjusted her pace so as to keep up with them. "I know your guild mark, you two are from Phantom Lord!"

As she ended her sentence, her new comrades stopped mid-step and turned around to meet her knowing eyes. The blunette could not read their expression on their faces and began to regret her previous words until the stoic woman stepped forward to extend her hand to the thief as she introduced herself formally.

"I am Juvia Lockser of the Great Sea, a member of the Element Four, our guild's flagship team. My dear friend is Gajeel Redfox the Iron Dragon. Juvia also wishes to know madame's name." The water mage greeted with a smile that seemed to make the rainfall suddenly feel warm.

Surprised by Juvia's warm and polite speech, the thief pondered for a moment while returning the smile in the downpour around them. She hoped they would not recognize her name for fear of the outcome upon learning they had just rescued a member of their rival guild. She was also concerned about the chance they would eventually find out during their time together.

"My name is Levy. Levy McGarden. It is a pleasure to meet you both!" The small mage answered her new friend as she reached out to connect with Juvia's hand in introduction. Throwing caution to the wind and taking the risky gamble, knowing that life is not worth living if one does not take a chance every once in a while.


	2. Chapter 2

"So, Shrimp," Gajeel asked while cradling a fork between his sharp teeth, tasting the utensil with the tip of his tongue; it was bitter and cheap. "How'dya pull off the job?"

Levy shot Gajeel a grimace upon hearing the dreaded S-word, causing him to snicker. She sipped the tea Juvia had brewed; the water mage had performed a small show for their guest using her magic to create the hot water that poured out of her hand and into the chipped ceramic mug, a stoneware glazed a murky mustard brown.

"I used my magic to make a decoy and, while the group was busy drinking, I switched them out. And by being _petite_ I was unnoticed until I was already out of the tavern. The darn bartender must have told them it was me on the count that he was the only one who wasn't inebriated." She answered the Iron Dragon.

"Ah, so yer a mage too, huh?" Gajeel pried more while revealing a long fang with his smile.

"Juvia would like to ask Miss Levy about the type of magic she uses, if you don't mind." The water mage asked her new friend. After walking around the city for a while they found an inn in one of the neutral districts where crime was prohibited. It was one of the better inns in the area, ensuring the safety of Levy and the codex she retrieved for her mission. The three began to converse about themselves and their travels, Gajeel explained his dragonslayer magic that was given to him by his father, an iron dragon named Metalicana. And how his father had disappeared on July 7th, X777. Levy was surprised to hear that her friend was not only another dragonslayer like her guild mate Natsu, but that his dragon father had also vanished the same day. He bit down on the fork in his mouth and chewed the piece of steel in his mouth before swallowing it with an audible gulp, confirming another similarity between his magic constitution and the famous Salamander's.

But Juvia, Levy felt an instant bond with the lady of the Great Sea. The woman with blue hair that tightly curled at the nape of her neck was quite shy due to her history of being bullied throughout her childhood and some of her young adult life. The rain that followed her wherever she went was a side effect of her magic. Levy even learned that Juvia was in fact made of water, making her impervious to all physical attacks and even some forms of magic. The rain woman as some called her out of fear and or ridicule, was one of the most fascinating people Levy had ever met.

Levy thought about Juvia's request and gladly obliged. She smiled as she reached into her cloak to pull out a holding lacrima and tapped it. With a puff of smoke the small crystal turned into a red messenger bag that she opened, pulling out a golden light pen shaped like a feather quill. It was a gift from Mirajane Strauss, and one of her most cherished treasures. Gajeel and Juvia exchanged looks between each other and their companion, their curiosity growing.

"My magic uses the power of words. It's called 'solid script'. I simply write a word and it manifests into what that word represents. For instance," Levy finished her tea and placed the empty mug at the center of the table. With her light pen she wrote the word 'water' in the air above the stoneware cup, and in an instant the word became water and fell into it with a small splash. Juvia's eyes lit up in awe as she clapped her hands together while Gajeel landed a heavy elbow, decorated with shining iron studs and large scars, on the table and leaned in while placing his jaw in his hand.

"Gihi!" he chuckled with a smirk, "yer tellin' me you used the ol' bait 'n' switch? Classic. Now make mine."

"'Make mine' what?" The script mage asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Aw c'mon, ya made Juvia some damn water! S'do mine," the dragonslayer exclaimed trying to appear threatening, but only succeeding in looking rather silly. He stared into Levy's eyes with his crimson gaze, his pupils were inhuman slits as opposed to circles. Those eyes made her heart skip a beat, they were mesmerizing. "Make some iron."

Levy blinked a few times as a tinge of pink appeared on her cheeks. Usually mindful of her manners she thought of how rude it seemed to not include him in her demonstration. She stood up and wrote the word 'iron' small enough to fit neatly in his hand but high enough in the air so that Gajeel could catch it before it would crash into the wooden table. Just as she predicted a large calloused hand reached out and effortlessly caught the heavy word as it dropped down to the scratched and beaten surface. The iron still maintained the letters written together. He inspected the iron word in his hand, and as Levy suspected he began to bite into it and quickly ate it, seemingly happy to do so.

Gajeel wiped the corner of his mouth with his thumb as he stared at the script mage with red eyes seductive with hunger despite having just ate. His lip curled into a smile as her heart continued to beat harder under his gaze.

"I gotta say I've never tasted iron so sweet. I oughtta keep ya around."

The petite mage's cheeks grew rosier at his compliment, receiving a loud laugh from Gajeel and a small chuckle from Juvia. Soon after Levy found herself giggling as well. Never in one thousand lifetimes would she have thought that she of all the mages of Fairy Tail would be sitting at the same table with members of a rival guild that blurred the line between light and dark guilds frequently, and to be laughing with them no less. Levy sigh happily before asking, "So, what mission brought you two to Dennish anyhow?"

"No mission, Tiny," Gajeel answered. "Dennish is my hometown." He leaned back in his chair and placed his hands behind his head. His garnet eyes grew distant as he sank into deep thought. "I come back now 'n' then just ta check in, see if my ol' man came back. It's been seven years, but I always come back. Just in case, y'know?"

His voice had lost the bravado that typically sang in his words. And all three mages grew silent as the rain tapped on the windows outside. The quiet had grown unbearable to the black haired brute, he shot up out of his chair and slammed both fists on the table hard enough to cause the mugs to jump up before falling over, startling the two blunettes out of their silence with chocked squeals of surprise.

"Damn it, I'm bored as hell 'n' wanna fight somethin'! Let's get outta this dump!"

And fight they did! Between exploring the black markets full of stolen goods and artifacts, feasting and drinking at the better pubs in the city and being good company to each other; there were plenty of brawls. All of them won by the infamous 'Black Steel' Gajeel Redfox and the two blue haired devil women who accompanied him. For five days the city was theirs for the taking.

On the sixth day; however, Juvia had been satisfied with the adventure and was ready to head back to Oak Town.

"Is Gajeel and Miss Levy sure about staying one more day? Juvia shall be lonely on the train ride home." The water maiden tried to nonchalantly bargain with her friends as they waited with her at the rainy platform. The last five days had brought the three of them together as close friends. Especially Gajeel and Levy. To Juvia, it seemed as if their bond was always present, and that their fateful encounter had merely awakened it from a lifelong slumber. She would be a liar if she said she was not jealous of her oldest friend and her newest one.

"Of course, Juvia, Gajeel said something about seeing a musician tonight. I'm so excited! He says the guy's the best in town!" Levy assured her friend who gave Gajeel a mischievous grin.

Juvia bumped her fellow Phantom with a swing of her hip, nearly knocking him over into a nearby puddle. "Oh really? Did Gajeel perhaps tell Miss Levy the name of this great musician?"

"Fer yer information, I was leavin' it a surprise, ya soggy wench!"

The two phantoms playfully fought and bickered as the train slowly made its way to the platform, whistling as it stopped to signal the nearby passengers to board. Levy smiled as her heart warmed at the sight. If she did not know better, she would have thought that they were brother and sister rather than guild mates who looked out for each other in a world where they were lonely together not realizing that their loneliness was long gone. They reminded her of Fairy Tail and how the guild took the loneliness out of life for everyone who joined, herself included.

Juvia strolled over to the train car to board. She turned around once more to her friends and waved goodbye, "It was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Levy, I hope to see you again! And Gajeel, you be good now and I will see you in Oak Town!" She shook her index finger at her fellow Phantom before boarding the train, her words causing Gajeel to fidget and turn away from Levy with a grumble and a light tinge of pink on his ears.

The train's whistle, signaling its departure, howled through the station as it slowly began to roll away from the platform, picking up speed the farther away down the tracks it went. As the train disappeared in the distance the skies cleared as the rain slowly stopped. After so many cloudy days, the sunshine seemed brighter than before as if making up for lost time.

The dragonslayer began to shake the excess water from his long black hair, scattering droplets into the air like tiny beads of glass. Levy was about to scold him for the action but the words never reached her tongue for the man before her left her breathless. She sun reflected off of his shiny piercings contrasting against his tanned firm skin. He was a truly beautiful sight.

When Gajeel opened his ruby eyes he caught Levy staring. The rain droplets that clung to her fair skin made her shimmer in the sun, and her hair really did match the color of the clear blue sky above them. She was a fairy come to life, all she needed was a pair of wings. She was easily the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

"Gihi," he snickered while running a hand through his hair with his usual pomp. "like what'chya see, girlie?" Gajeel could not let her know that she was crumbling the foundations of his bad attitude that had taken years to build.

Levy squealed as she blushed a deep red, "What!? I don't know what you're talking about! I was just-"

"Oi!" Gajeel cut her stammering short.

"Huh?"

The Iron Dragon stared into Levy's eyes. His own smoldered with something she did not understand, but nonetheless made her body grow so warm that she felt as if she was burning from the inside out. The script mage tried to remember something about that warm beautiful red, but for the first time in her life her genius memory had failed her.

"Stay with me t'night." he said quietly to the woman before him.

"What!?" Levy could not help but match his low whisper.

"After tha show t'night, will ya stay at my place?"

Despite all rational thoughts regarding reasons why a man with a delinquent reputation in a rogue guild would ask a woman to stay the night with him in a city so far from both of their homes, Levy felt no fear in her answer as she felt no fear of him. She trusted him as easily as taking a breath of fresh air.

"Sure, it is our last night in town after all. There's no point in spending it alone"

"Gihi, my thoughts exactly," Gajeel agreed with a smirk. And Levy felt her heart melt into a puddle at the center of her chest.


	3. Chapter 3

Levy stood at the door to Gajeel's room at the inn. He had told her to meet him there at dusk. She knocked on the wooden door before dusting off her denim vest and khaki shorts, giving herself one last inspection, making sure she looked adequate for their outing. Levy waited a few quiet moments for her large muscular friend to answer the door.

"Gajeel?" She called through the door anxiously, the blunette was growing impatient, "C'mon, dummy, we're going to be late!"

After knocking a few more times, Levy decided to check if the door was locked. Much to her surprise the brass knob turned and the latch clicked as the door was pushed open.

Levy was not ready for what she saw next.

At the center of the room Gajeel sat in a wooden chair with a guitar in his lap as if ready to play. Wearing a black tank top, blue jeans, and a smirk on his pierced face.

"'Bout time ya showed up, Shrimp," he said while he finished tuning the stringed instrument. " I was startin' ta think ya chickened out on me!"

Levy stood in the doorway shocked about how the surprise performer was none other than Gajeel himself. Her face felt hot, her heart began to beat out of her chest and she could not catch her breath.

"Well aren'chya gonna come in 'n' enjoy tha show?!" The dragonslayer pulled Levy out of her stupor. She right away shut the door and found a spot on the bed opposite of him.

"I know tha outfit's not much, I left ma signin' get-up back in Oak Town. 'N' I snagged tha guitar from tha stage downstairs."

The Script mage could not take her eyes off of him. The way his long thick locks fell down his shoulders and back, how his piercings shimmered in the lantern light, even his guild mark on his right arm suited him. "You look wonderful...really," she sighed, "What kind of music do you play?"

Gajeel continued to warm up for his private concert, he did not want her to know that her simple compliment made his heart flutter; he had no clue his heart was capable of such a thing. The fact that he had the potential to feel as he did, and his enjoyment of spending time with a 'kind' person, both terrified and intrigued him. Gajeel was more than the infamous Black Steel, the ruthless strong arm of Phantom Lord whose heart was hard and cold as the iron forged from his magic. He began to realize that he was not the reckless violent dragon people believed him to be, Gajeel Redfox was still a man. If only he had his father around to talk to. The giant metal bastard would know what to say to settle his racing mind.

"A little of everything. I just play how I feel...ya ready?" He asked as he looked at Levy with eyes that were warm as the lantern light in the room.

"I was born ready," the small woman replied with a smile and Gajeel could have sworn that the room grew brighter with it.

He began to play and sang songs that never fell on anyone's ears but his own. Songs about his adventures with his father and ballads about his deepest thoughts and desires. Levy enjoyed every note and word; standing up from the bed the young mage began to dance around the room. Twirling on her sandaled feet and shaking her shapely hips to the rhythm of Gajeel's guitar.

Gajeel looked up from his instrument and watched her dance as he played; her sky hued wavy locks bounced on the edges of her shoulders, and her creamy skin sparkled in the lantern's glow. His words failed him as he trailed off into silence, the only sound in the room being the melody he still managed to play. The dragonslayer looked on, Levy was so light on her feet she looked as if she was floating off of the floor.

Levy was so engrossed with the music and dancing to notice that it stopped as Gajeel placed the guitar down against the nearest table leg. He reached out to her with his studded and scarred arm, grabbing her frail wrist with a gentle strength he was unaware he possessed and pulled her into his lap.

The blunette had been taken from her trance now that she was straddling Gajeel's lap. Their eyes met, her golden brown gaze stared into the two red jewels that were the Iron Dragon's. Levy tried to control her breathing while she reached up to touch his face with soft delicate hands. Gajeel's reptilian pupils widened upon feeling her touch, and his red irises became dark with need as she softly ran her thumbs along the six piercings above his eyes.

 _'A spirit holding two red stones...'_

Those eyes she could sink endlessly into.

 _'Will save you at the cost of your heart."_

Levy quickly glanced at the Phantom Lord mark on Gajeel's shoulder.

Cana's prophecy had been right all along. That a phantom with red eyes would save her life, but in this moment she was giving her heart to him willingly, uncaring of the possible consequences of offering such a sacred gift.

She cupped Gajeel's face in her small hands as she inched closer to his lips with her own. He leaned forward as he slid his rough, calloused hands up her back to wrap one arm around her ribs as the other weaved fingers into her soft blue hair.

When their lips met, the kiss had awakened a passionate longing inside both of them. The two lovers' souls burned for each other as a simple kiss was instantly not enough to satiate them. Levy entangled her slender fingers into Gajeel's dark mane but their embrace, no matter close it brought the two together, it still was not close enough.

Gajeel hoisted Levy up by rump and stood up from the chair. A light gasp escaped his petite lover's lips as she wrapped her legs around his waist. The gasp was quickly swallowed by another deep kiss as he led her to the bed where he placed her down and climbed on top of her body; moving his warm mouth down to her neck and collar bone. Between heavy panting breaths, Gajeel unbuttoned Levy's vest revealing her modest, perky bust still concealed by a yellow bikini top with the strap tied in a neat bow at the center. He slowly pulled the loose strap and untied the bow, revealing her breasts hidden underneath. He felt as if he could eat her alive.

As the two explored each others bodies with their hands and lips they removed their constraining clothing that fell loosely onto the wooden floor until the two mages were left nude and vulnerable. Words were not spoken, none were needed, as they made love in the lantern light of the small room. The only sounds heard between them were their moans for each other melding into a love song of passion.

Long after they fell into oblivion for the final time, Levy and Gajeel held each other underneath the beds thin linen sheets. The lantern had long since died out hours ago. Leaving only the pale blue aura of the night to creep into the dark room from the windows. Levy remained awake, assuming Gajeel had fallen asleep, and savored his warmth that cradled her. She had felt as if she finally found the safest place in the world, and it was within his arms.

"You're awake," Gajeel's voice rumbled in a soft whisper.

Levy peeked up past her tussled hair to look at the dragonslayer's face. In the short time she had known him, she had never seen him look so serene.

"Mmhmm," she agreed while nodding into his bare chest, "you can't sleep either?"

"No."

"How come?"

"Honestly," Gajeel whispered in the dark with hesitation in his voice, "I'm terrified."

Levy slowly sat up in the bed, the sheet sliding off of her body and into her lap; she glowed in the moonlight, his little fairy woman. Everything about her was magic. She looked into Gajeel's eyes as he shifted his body, raising his arms behind his head against the headboard.

The Iron Dragon stared back at her as he let her peer into his soul with those kind brown eyes, curious to know if she understood his fears and desires. Levy reached around her left shoulder, tracing her fingers across her own guild mark. She felt a pang of guilt that felt like a needle piercing her heart.

"Don't do that," Gajeel said in the same soft rumble. Assuring her that her guilt was unnecessary. "I get why."

"How long have you known?" the petite woman in his bed asked as she brought her her kneed to her bare breasts, leaning back against the window.

"Not long. At tha very end when ya collapsed on me. I saw tha wings 'n' tha tail. 'N' I realized just how dangerous ya are."

Levy chuckled to herself at the remark. She believed herself to be many things, but dangerous had never been one of them. "How?" she questioned the sincerity of his words.

It was Gajeel's turn to quietly laugh into the night before answering his lover, "That's what I can't figure out. I just don't understand what ya do t'me." He sat up and crossed his legs, his lower body still hidden under the sheet, resting his arms on his knees as he leaned forward. He could not look her in the eye while confiding in her due to the tangled tendrils of ink black hair that covered parts of his face and he preferred it that way.

"There's a guild war comin' 'n' Master Jose is lookin' at Fairy Tail as tha target. Rumor has it that one of yer guild members is a fugitive with a reward on their head. 'N' I'm talkin' big money, so much that Master Jose's willin' ta do just about anything ta get his slimy fingers on it."

"That won't happen," Levy replied quickly with conviction, matching the same serious tone as her lover. "Master Makarov won't give in to Jose's instigation! No matter what he has planned!"

The Fairy Tail mage gasped as Gajeel swiftly and silently pulled her down to the bed, pinning her small, soft body under his own that seemed as solid as iron. A stern snarl formed on his lip as he scolded her.

"That's tha problem! Tha longer Makarov stands his ground, tha worse it's gonna get! 'N' I'm tha closest thing ta a soldier my damned guild's got! So who d'ya think's gonna do tha damage ta yer guild 'n' yer friends? 'Cause dammit I'll not only do it, I'll enjoy every minute of it!"

"Gajeel..." Levy tried to interject.

"But you!" He cut her off. His tone was no longer aggressive and urgent, but solomn. "If I do something, and you're tha one that suffers, Levy, I don't know what I'd do with myself." He paused and sighed heavily before he finished what he wanted to say, "I just might lose my mind."

The gravity of Gajeel's confession only added to the weight of their situation on his shoulders. He hated Fairy Tail, and he yearned for the day that Master Jose would give the order for Black Steel to unleash his fury upon the rival guild. But uttering those words now after his recent discovery of this incredible woman's affiliation with Fairy Tail caused the dragonslayer, for the first time in his life, to lose interest in the war path he always walked.

For the first time in Gajeel Redfox's life, he wanted to protect someone from harm. And there she was lying under him naked in his bed, in the slum that was his hometown of all places. The woman with strands of sky for hair, whose skin tasted even sweeter than the iron she could create with her magic. But Levy McGarden of Fairy Tail possessed another magic, a strange magic that made his cold iron heart within his chest burn white hot with a sensation he was afraid to understand, but felt so wonderful he allowed it to consume him.

A soft hand reached his cheek and pulled him from his inner turmoil, bringing him back to those brown eyes that had lassoed him on that rainy cobblestone street just six days ago.

"No matter what, Gajeel, I know you're a good man. I wouldn't by here in this moment if you weren't." Levy's soft words awoke something primal in Gajeel. He crushed his mouth onto hers without warning in a rough, bruising kiss; invading her mouth with his tongue as he clung to her like she was the final monument at the edge of the underworld that kept him tied to the world of the living.

He moved down to her neck with hard kisses and bites as he entered her smooth caverns and began to ravage her body once more. Levy's sweet moans of want were music to his ears and her and her nails raking down his back with the same force he unleashed upon her told him that she welcomed the passionate storm. The fairy had proven herself to be strong enough to handle the onslaught of the dragon; enjoying every rose red mark his mouth and firm grip were placing throughout her body while engrossed in his passionate inhibitions so much that she swelled and released over and over around his raging lust that plummeted into her again and again. Killing the lovers and saving them all at once until Gajeel cried out a beastly howl into the early morning twilight upon his own pulsating release into his love who now had a piece of him within her. Ankhseram be damned if anyone else would have her. Ever.

The red eyed phantom had stolen the sky haired fairy's heart, and she had managed to capture his. While panting with ragged breaths, they pulled each other into a gentle kiss that poured that truth into each other. Levy's kiss told him everything; that she was bound by fate to love him, and he as well. Gajeel hated her guild, her people, but he loved this woman. He loved her, and it was both painful and exhilarating. A secret the dragonslayer would hide away in his iron heart to hoard.

All concerns of rival guilds and fugitive princesses faded from Gajeel's mind as the only thing that invaded it was the little blue haired fairy woman. And for the first time in Levy's life she had reached a moment of blissful thoughtlessness as she lay satiated and exhausted. The lovers consumed each other with tired eyes as their heavy breaths relieved to soft sighs as they finally succumbed to a peaceful slumber in each others arms.


	4. Chapter 4

In the late morning Gajeel slowly opened his eyes to the room around him, his eyes found Levy as he watched her write on her naked, love bitten, and passion bruised skin with her pen while standing before a dingy full size mirror that hung on the wall by the door. He could not help but observe her as he felt the proof of his passion on her skin made her all the more beautiful.

"What'r'ya doin?" he asked while propping himself up from the mattress with his arms, startling the small woman. She sucked in a sharp inhale as she turned to the dragonslayer, but levy's fear quickly ebbed into relief and a chortle as she backed away from the mirror.

"Oh! Gajeel, you dummy, you scared me! I'm just concealing some of...these..." The Fairy Tail mage turned her nude form around to both show Gajeel, and admire with her own hooded eyes, the small bruises and and marks that covered her fair skin.

She smiled sheepishly as she continued, "it's not that I wish to cover them up, but given my small stature and all; if anyone from the guild were to see me like this, they would become ridiculous about me going on missions solo."

"Well that's stupid! Don't they trust ya?" Gajeel questioned as she returned to writing her magic on her delicious soft skin. Watching how every pen stroke caused the evidence of his love for her to fade away.

"You would think," Levy answered while focused on her work, "considering the group missions I go on end up with me doing more of the work than my comrades. I may be small, and my magic isn't very offensive. But as you know, it is how I use my magic that makes me strong. Sometimes strength is more about how cunning you can be with your magic rather than how much power you can force behind it.

The Iron Dragon curled his lip into a smile. She was truly incredible.

"Promise me," he commanded from the bed stopping Levy in the middle of her spells.

"Gajeel..."

"When this war breaks out, and I know it will, promise me ya'll let me pull ya outta harms way."

"But my-" Levy tried to argue but was interrupted with a shout and a hard thud as Gajeel struck the headboard with the bottom of his fist.

"Damn it, woman, I don't care about yer friends! Hell I don't even care about my own damn guild!" the dragonslayer quickly left the bed,the bed sheet that covered him slid away from him silkily as he stormed up to Levy. He grabbed his lover's shoulders before pulling her into a tight embrace. His face fell into her wild hair; it was soft and her scent was like a truth serum as he let his guard down and whispered, "Please. Just let me do this. I don't wanna lose ya."

Levy returned the embrace and held her ear to his chest, hearing his beating heart that now belonged to her. A monotone melody that, she wondered, had faintly been heard by anyone else. The script mage could not reject that gentle beating that reverberated within him. In her thoughts on sunny days, dreaming about what love could be like, she never imagined how powerful a feeling could be. She assumed nothing in Earthland existed with the power to forsake her family.

"I promise," she sighed into his firm tanned chest. "I'll run away with you when the time comes."

They held each other in a comfortable silence before separating to finish packing and readying themselves to go their separate ways. These were their last hours in the City of Thieves.

After leaving the inn their walk to the train station was long and solemn with both mages walking slowly through the streets to prolong their last moments together. Other than the occasional small talk the stroll through the city was also a quiet one to boot. Upon reaching the station levy purchased her ticket back to Magnolia from a small old man who reminded her of her guild master. Typically seeing familiar faces of her guild mates in strangers made her eager to return home, but today it only caused melancholy to stew in her stomach.

Gajeel stood behind her a few feet from the ticket kiosk. She would probably wish for him to join her for the ride back home but he rather her not see him fall ill from motion sickness from the train. It always made him feel embarrassed for anyone to see how weak transportation made him.

She turned and walked to him after receiving her ticket, he heard the words before they even left her soft full lips, "You're not getting a ticket? This train makes a stop as it passes through Oak Town."

Trying hard to retain his confidence he shook his head and replied, "Nah, I'd rather walk. It'll give me time ta think about some things."

The Fairy Tail mage was curious if Gajeel's decision to walk was for the same reason her friend and guild mate Natsu always declined the use of transportation, wondering if all dragonslayers had a deficiency for uncontrolled motion. She found it easier to leave the curiosity a mystery for the time being. "Would you at least wait for the train with me at the platform? I feel like there's so much to talk about before we go our separate ways." Levy paused before continuing, "I don't want to say 'goodbye' yet."

"Then don't," was all that Gajeel stated to the blunette as he brushed a stray lock of hair that escaped her headband behind her ear with a rough calloused hand. The Iron Dragon felt the same, not wanting to return to the routine of his everyday being around so many hooligans he honestly wanted nothing to do with. He did not want what he had before him to be a passing ship in the ocean voyage of life, but that was neither here nor there, she had to go home to her guild and he had to give in, he had to let her go.

"C'mon, let's get ya to tha train before I decide ta take ya back ta Phantom Lord," he added as he reached for her hand, leading her to the train's platform.

"G-Gajeel!" She called out as he pulled her stumbling form down the station's wide hallway and outside to the sunny wooden platform.

"What?" He turned to her seeing a determined woman with fire in her eyes.

"Why are you being so calm about this!?" Levy demanded an answer for his sudden behavior. She could not shake the feeling that maybe somewhere in her extraordinary mind she had doubts about her feelings; mainly of whether or not he reciprocated them.

Gajeel stood tall before her, the sun eclipsed by his great form, he was dark and his red eyes glowed like stoked coals in a fire as he stared into her own that shimmered like gold in the sunshine. It were as if the light of the world had met darkness for the first time, unaware of how they both needed the other to simply exist.

"There ain't nothing calm about me," his voice was quiet but rough with a miasma of emotions he was withholding. He was frightening and beautiful to the script mage, and Levy's heart began to beat like a war drum within her ribs. "I wanna steal ya from Fairy Tail, I wanna go rogue from Phantom Lord. But I know how ya fairies are about yer loyalty, and well, I like tha dirty work I get ta do for my own guild." Gajeel ended with a dark chuckle and a grin to match.

"But," He added with a sudden change in his tone, "ya do somethin' ta me and I'm startin' ta think I know what it is. 'N' because of that I am anything but calm."

With those last word, Gajeel brought his hands together. He held one hand open while the other had his fingers clustered to a point as he placed the bundled fingertips at the center of his open palm. The iron mage pulled his hand away from his open palm as a thin trail of iron followed his fingertips, subtle movements of his hand added shape to the iron as he created it with his magic. The result of his spell revealed an iron quill much like the one Mira had gifted Levy. But unlike the golden light pen's soft feather fringe, the dragonslayer formed the feather to resemble dragon scales.

Gajeel grasped the iron quill in the hand that molded it and reached for Levy's small hand with the other before placing the offering into it lovingly. His gentleness reminiscent of their first kiss the night before. Staring at the gift now in her hand, the scrip mage understood the gravity of her lover's internal battle, and how remarkable it was that someone as notorious as he would have the heart to be compelled to make such an amorous gesture.

Suddenly Levy understood her own fears and desires, awestruck of the splendid power that something as simple as love possessed. She tightened her grip on the iron quill in her hand knowing her new pen was strong and dark like its creator as tears began to swell in her eyes only to plummet down her cheeks.

"It's not fair, you know, forcing me to make a promise to abandon my family," The Fairy Tail mage began as tears continued to fall from her eyes. "Like I'm some princess that needs to be saved. Well I'm not! I am bound to the chains of fate just like you! So it's only right that you do the same for me!"

Gajeel was relieved that they were the only ones waiting on the platform. Having this shining woman crying before him would only bring him misinformed glares and whispers of judgment from other passengers awaiting their trains, hoping the shadow that darkened her mood would just leave her alone and go away. However by being alone he was free to reveal his heart to her as the iron walls that encased it had crumbled to rubble for the fairy woman effortlessly. His eyes widened upon hearing her confession and was ready to comply to any demand she would ask of him.

He cupped her face in his hands and wiped the tears from her cheeks. He wanted to look into those amber eyes as he spoke to her words that would never be meant for anyone else.

"Name it, I'll level entire countries if ya wanted. Whatever ya wish I'll give t'ya."

Levy gazed into his garnet eyes as she whispered her wish.

"Promise me, no matter what happens, that you'll be by my side. If this war destroys everything, or never comes at all; even if I somehow become a casualty, please promise me you'll stay by my side."

The Iron Dragon heard the words and answered her without hesitation as he leaned in and pressed his forehead against hers, taking in her scent of ancient tomes and ink now laced with hints of his own scent mixed in, "I promise."

They leaned in for one last kiss as the train whistled for passengers after slowly coasting to the platform. Levy smiled at Gajeel as she reached for one of his hands that were holding her face and wrote the word 'iron' in the palm of his hand, creating one last gift for him. The metal word in his hand was different than the first time she created iron from her magic as he noticed the small heart in the 'o'. The dragonslayer smiled letting out a small "gihi" from his lips.

Levy began to step away, their hands holding tightly as long as they could before finally letting go. Allowing their fingertips to graze each other in a final effort to remain connected before becoming two lonesome travelers once more. As she walked to the train car she looked back at her dragon with the long unruly hair that cascaded down like a jagged shadow, making his piercings shine brighter in the sun, one last time; waving her goodbye to him as he lifted his own hand to the same. The smiles they wore were bittersweet, for despite being forlorn about separating, they were happy beyond words to have found each other in the chaotic world they lived in.

Moments after she was no longer visible after boarding the train began to whistle one last time to announce its departure from the platform as it trailed away, gaining speed while it disappeared in the distance toward Magnolia.

Gajeel sighed as he lowered his waving hand and looked down at the iron in his hand. He placed it to his lips and bit down, tasting the sweet element only her magic could conjure. The dragonslayer devoured all but the 'o' with the heart in its center. He eyed it for a moment with a smile before stuffing it in his pants pocket as he walked away from the platform pondering over the seeds of change she planted that had now taken root in his heart. With that, for the first time, he hoped the gods would allow fate to be kind to them if the war between the Fairies and the Phantoms were to finally break out.

A/N: the final part of this story with Gajeel eating all but the 'o' in the word iron was inspired by Rboz's doujinshi when Gajeel became injured during a solo mission after seeing someone confess their love to her.


End file.
